Eatin' veggies, vegetarian and gluten-free in the greater Motor City & while traveling

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Krupnik soup (vegan and gluten free)

One thing I love about Polish food is the different names for kinds of soup. While English names usually just explain what’s in it (cream of mushroom, for example) Polish has different names for different varieties of soup.

I saw this soup at a buffet, but it had barley in it. The smell was tempting enough that I decided to make my own version, however. As a substitute, I choose millet, as it’s gluten-free but sometimes pops up in Polish cooking. It’s a great soup for spring, as it is light but still filling. If you see fresh ramps at a farmer’s market, I would definitely add those.

This was my first time using millet, but it’s super easy to cook. It has a slightly nutty flavor and fluffs up easily in the soup. The millet does absorb a lot of water, so you might need to add more broth to the soup as you’re cooking. Usually, this soup has potatoes in it, but I left ‘em out.

Ingredients:

-1 cup raw millet (toasted)

-1 large leek, diced

-2 medium carrots, shredded

-1 small onion

-2-3 green onions, with tops

-1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

-6 cups vegetable stock or broth

Directions

1. Toast the millet in a pan over low medium heat. When the small kernels start to brown and smell like popcorn, take the millet off the heat.

2. Saute the diced onion until a little translucent, then add the diced leek.

3. When the leek is soft and fragrant, add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

4. When the soup is bubbling, add the shredded carrots, millet and parsley and turn down the heat down to low.

5. Simmer everything over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the millet is soft and tender.